What Does The Bible Say About Hell?

There is a lot of false teaching going around regarding the the subject
of hell. For example, some say it is merely the grave, and that there is
no consciousness or torment. Others claim that it is a state of mind,
and that hell is right here on earth. Preachers today, have gotten away
from preaching on the subject Hell because either they no longer
believe in it, due to receiving training from a Bible college or seminary
that does not believe the Bible, or because they do not want to
frighten or offend the members of their congregations. The Bible has a
great deal to say regarding Hell, thus it is to the inspired, written Word
of God that we must turn to for our information regarding this awful
place.

Our English word Hell is defined as "the abode of departed spirits,

infernal regions, place of eternal punishment, the abode of evil spirits."
The word infernal means "belonging to Hell." The word inferno is
another word for Hell. Gehenna is defined as "the place of future
torment, hell, hellfire." Tartarus is defined as "the place of punishment
in the lower world" and is reserved for the angels that sinned by taking
on human form and marrying human women and fathering unnatural
offspring (2 Peter 2:4).

There are seven Hebrew and Greek words that are translated as "hell"
and "grave" as follows:

1. Sheol - the unseen world. It always refers to the realm or unseen

world of departed spirits, and is always in contrast with qeber which
means the grave, or seen world where bodies are buried. In the KJV,
sheol is translated "hell" 31 times, "grave" 31 times, and "pit" 3 times.
The rendering of sheol as "grave" is an unfortunate translation, and is
incorrect.

2. Qeber - The proper Hebrew word for the grave, and is translated six
different ways and always of the place where the body goes at death:

Grave (Gen. 35:20; 50:5; Num. 19:16, 18; 2 Sam. 3:32; 19:37; 1 Ki.
13:30; 14:13; 2 Ki. 22:20; 2 Chr. 34:28; Job 3:22; 5:26; 10:19; 21:32;
Ps. 88:5, 11; Isa. 14:19; 53:9; Ez. 32:23-24; Nah, 1:14)

Graves (Ex. 14:11; 2 Ki. 23:6; 2 Chr. 34:4; Job 17:1; Isa. 65:4; Jer. 8:1;
26:23; Ez. 32:22-25; 37:12-13; 39:11)

Burial (2 Chr. 26:23; Eccl. 6:3; Isa. 14:20; Jer. 22:19)

Burying Place (Gen. 23:4, 9, 20; 47:30; 49:30; 50:13; Judg 16:31)

Sepulchre (Gen. 23:6; Dt. 34:6; Judg. 8:32; 1 Sam. 10:2; 2 Sam. 2:32;
4:12; 17:23; 21:14; 1 Ki. 13:22, 31; 2 Ki. 9:28; 13:21; 21:26; 23:17, 30;
Ps. 5:9; Isa. 22:16; Jer. 5:16)

Sepulchres (Gen. 23:6; 2 Ki. 23:16; 2 Chr. 16:14; 21:20; 24:25; 28:27;
32:33; 35:24; Neh. 2:3, 5; 3:16)

3. Hades - the unseen world. It is the Greek equivalent of sheol in the

Old Testament, and is always in contrast with mnemeion which is the
proper Greek word for the grave, and refers to the seen world or place
where dead bodies go at death, and is never translated as "hell." In the
KJV hades is translated "hell" 10 times, and "grave" 1 time.

4. Mnaymeion - This is the proper Greek word for grave and is

translated 6 different ways:

Grave (Jn. 11:17, 31, 38; 12:17)

Graves (Matt. 27:52-53; Lk. 11:44; Jn. 5:28; Rev. 11:9)

Tomb (Matt. 27:60; Mk. 6:29)

Tombs (Matt. 8:28; Mk. 5:2-5; Lk. 8:27)

Sepulchre (Matt. 27:60; 28:8; Mk. 15:46; 16:2-8; Lk. 23:53, 55; 24:1-2,
9, 12, 22, 24; Jn. 19:41-42; 20:1-11; Acts 2:29; 7:16; 13:29)

Sepulchres (Matt. 23:29; Lk. 11:47-48)

5. Gehenna - from the Hebrew ge (gorge, valley) and Hinnom, a

Jebusite name. It means "valley of Hinnom," where perpetual fires were
kept for burning the trash of Jerusalem. Jesus used it as a picture of
eternal hell and eternal punishment. It is translated "hell" 12 times,
and is never translated as "grave."

6. Tartaros (Tartarus) - the deepest abyss of sheol-hades. It is where

the angels who "kept not their first estate" are being confined (2 Pet.
2:4) until their judgment.

7. Limnen tou puros (Lake of Fire) - This is the same as the gehenna of
fire, the eternal hell and perdition of all rebels against God, and is used
5 times (Rev. 19:20; 20:10-15; 21:8).

If one were to do a study of all the above, it would be seen that the
teachings that hell is the grave, or that it is here on earth, or that it is a
state of mind are all in error and do not line up with the inspired,
written Word of God.

Eighty-Eight Facts Proving Hell Is Not The Grave

(Taken From Dake's Annotated Reference Bible)

1. In Scripture, Sheol/Hades (hell) is never the place of the body;

qeber/mnemeion (grave) is never the place of the soul (Psalm 16:10;
Acts 2:25-29).
2. Sheowl (OT:7585) is never in the plural; qeber (OT:6913) is plural 38
times, and singular 74 times.
3. Sheowl (OT:7585) is never located on earth; qeber (OT:6913) is
located on earth 73 times.
4. The body never goes to sheowl (OT:7585); the body is mentioned as
going to qeber (OT:6913) 75 times.
5. An individual's sheowl (OT:7585) is never mentioned; an individual's
qeber (OT:6913) is mentioned 79 times.
6. Man never puts anyone into sheowl (OT:7585); man puts bodies into
a qeber (OT:6913) 40 times.
7. Man never digs or makes a sheowl (OT:7585); man digs and makes a
qeber (OT:6913) 51 times.
8. Man on earth never touches a sheowl (OT:7585); he touches a qeber
(OT:6913) 51 times.
9. Man has never seen a sheowl (OT:7585) on earth; he has seen a
qeber (OT:6913) 51 times.
10. God alone puts men into sheowl (OT:7585) (Numbers 16:30-33; 1
Samuel 2:6; Ezekiel 31:16; Luke 16:19-31).
11. God alone will bring men out of sheowl (OT:7585) (1 Samuel 2:6;
Rev. 20:11-15).
12. Hell-bound men descend (Isaiah 5:14) and go down (into the lower
parts of the earth) into sheowl (OT:7585) at death (Genesis 37:35;
Genesis 42:38; Genesis 44:29,31; Numbers 16:30-33; 1 Samuel 2:6; 1
Kings 2:6,9; Job 7:9-10; Job 17:16; Job 21:13; Psalm 31:16-17; Isaiah
14:9-16; Ezekiel 31:15-17; Ezekiel 32:27; Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15).
13. People go into sheowl (OT:7585) in a moment and quickly
(Numbers 16:30-33; Job 21:13; Psalm 55:15; Luke 16:19-31).
14. People are forced into sheowl (OT:7585) (Isaiah 5:15).
15. People are cast into sheowl (OT:7585) (Ezekiel 31:15-17).
16. Sheol is located in the nether parts of the earth (Ezekiel 31:14-18;
Ezekiel 32:24), lower parts of the earth (Psalm 63:9; Psalm 68:18;
Ephes. 4:8-10), heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40), below the depth of
the seas and below the foundations of the mountains (Jonah 2:2-6),
beneath like a pit (Proverbs 15:24; Isaiah 14:9-16; Ezekiel 31:14-18;
Ezekiel 32:18-31), and is too deep to dig into (Job 11:8; Amos 9:2).
17. Sheol/Hades, unlike the grave, is a place of activity, a place of
wrath (Deut. 32:22; Luke 16:19-31).
18. A place of sorrow (Genesis 42:38; Genesis 44:29,31; 2 Samuel
22:6; Psalm 18:5; Psalm 55:15; Psalm 116:3; Proverbs 7:27; Isaiah
14:9-15).
19. A place of fire (Deut. 32:22; Song 8:6; Luke 16:19-31).
20. A place hidden from man, but naked before God (Job 26:6; Psalm
139:8; Proverbs 15:11; Amos 9:2)
21. A place of power (Psalm 49:15; Hosea 13:14; Matthew 16:18; 1 Cor.
15:51-56; Rev. 1:18; Rev. 6:8).
22. A place of full consciousness (Isaiah 14:9-15; Ezekiel 32:27-31;
Luke 16:19-31).
23. A place for the soul and spirit, not the body (Psalm 16:10; Psalm
30:3; Psalm 49:15; Psalm 86:13; Psalm 89:48; Proverbs 23:14; Acts
2:25-29).
24. A place of conversations (Isaiah 14:9-16; Ezekiel 32:21; Luke 16:19-
31).
25. A place where many kings and chief ones of the earth live after
death (Isaiah 14:9-11).
26. A place where its inhabitants are stirred up at the coming of others
(Isaiah 14:9-11; Ezekiel 32:27-32).
27. A place where great men acknowledge their defeat (Isaiah 14:9-
11).
28. A place where men recognize and converse with one another
(Isaiah 14:16; Luke 16:9-31).
29. A place where knowledge and memory exist (Isaiah 14:10,16; Luke
16:19-31).
30. A place for the proud-Matthew 11:23; Luke 10:15. If the grave is
hell then the curse of Jesus here is meaningless, for all go to graves
physically, the proud and the humble, without such a curse (Hebrews
9:27).
31. A place of torment (Luke 16:23).
32. A place of prayer (Jonah 2:2; Luke 16:19-31).
33. A place of regret over mistreatment of others (Luke 16:24-31).
34. A place where men still have willpower, though it is too late to
accept God's terms and escape hell (Luke 16:24-31).
35. A place where men are conscious of life on earth, but cannot visit
earth to warn men of the real torments (Luke 16:26-31).
36. A place where the lost become concious of the need of soul-
winning (Luke 16:27-31).
37. A place so terrible that those who are in it plead for some means of
warning others not to come there (Luke 16:26-31).
38. A place where souls are not burned up by the fire (Luke 16:22-31; 1
Peter 3:4).
39. A place of cruelty (Song 8:6).
40. A place that has enlarged itself-it has not been enlarged by men
(Isaiah 5:14).
41. A place that is never full or satisfied (Proverbs 27:20; Proverbs
30:16; Habakkuk 2:5).
42. A place that receives men in numbers like flocks of sheep (note,
Psalm 49:14).
43. A place from which only salvation can deliver one (Psalm 86:13).
44. A place of gates and bars (Job 17:16; Isaiah 38:10; Matthew 16:18;
Rev. 1:18).
45. A place of debasement (Isaiah 57:9).
46. A place of pains (Psalm 18:5; Psalm 116:3; Luke 16:19-31).
47. A temporary place of torment (Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15).
48. A place of two compartments-one for the righteous before the
resurrection of Christ, and one for the wicked departed souls from
Abel's time to the end of the Millennium-with a great gulf between the
compartments forbidding travel but not communication between them
(Luke 16:19-31).

The Paradise Compartment of Sheol:

49. A place other than the grave for the righteous who, until Christ
came, were captives of the devil against their will (Hebrews 2:14-15). It
was called Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22) and paradise (Luke 23:43).
50. It was a hiding place from God's wrath after death (Job 14:13; Luke
16:19-31), a place without fire, but with water and other comforts
(Ezekiel 31:16; Luke 16:19-31).
51. Lazarus went into this place of comfort, but his body went to the
grave (Luke 16:19-31).
52. Christ and the penitent thief went into paradise at death (Psalm
16:10; Matthew 12:40; Luke 23:43; Ephes. 4:8-10).
53. Jonah also went into this compartment while his body was dead in
the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:2,6-7; Matthew 12:40).
54. Angels carried the righteous souls into this compartment, but men
carried their bodies to graves (Luke 16:22-26; Luke 23:43).
55. Christ, while there, preached to the angels in tartarus, proving that
the hell He was in is not the grave (Psalm 16:10; 1 Peter 3:19).
56. Christ, while in Sheol/Hades, liberated the righteous captives of
Satan taking them to heaven with Him when He ascended on high
(Ephes. 4:8-10; Hebrews 2:14-15).
57. Paradise is now empty of all the righteous souls (Ephes. 4:8-10;
Hebrews 12:23); the graves continue to hold bodies of both the
righteous and unrighteous.
58. The righteous were alive in paradise, else Christ could not have
preached and liberated the righteous captives; and Lazarus and others
in this place could not have been comforted (Luke 16:19-31).

The Torment Compartment of Sheol:

59. It is the lowest part of Sheol, even lower than paradise, and
therefore could not be the grave (Deut. 32:22; Psalm 86:13; Proverbs
9:18; Isaiah 57:9).
60. The greater number of people (not all) go into it at death (Deut.
32:22; Psalm 9:17; Isaiah 5:14; Luke 16:19-31), whereas all men go
into a grave, watery or otherwise, at death.
61. The fire in it is as literal as the mountains (Deut. 32:22; Luke 16:19-
31).
62. The fire is kindled in God's wrath (Deut. 32:22)
63. Entrance into it is down, deeper than a grave, through the earth to
its center (Numbers 16:30-33; Matthew 12:40; Ephes. 4:8-10).
64. Bodies of men are buried at the mouth of it on the earth's surface
only (Psalm 141:7).
65. Men go alive into it (Numbers 16:30-33; Psalm 88:3; Proverbs 1:12;
Ezekiel 32:27-31; Luke 16:19-31).
66. The wicked only are tormented in it (Deut. 32:22; Psalm 9:17;
Proverbs 5:5; Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 9:18; Isaiah 14:9-16; Luke 16:19-
31).
67. Its depth is contrasted with the height of heaven, which could
never be so of the grave (Job 11:7; Isaiah 57:9; Amos 9:2).
68. The Rephaim, or giants, are there for sexual sins, proving that they
are still alive in sheol (OT:7585) ( Genesis 6:1-4; Proverbs 9:18;
Proverbs 21:16; Isaiah 14:9-19; Isaiah 26:14).
69. Christ now has the keys of Sheol/Hades (Rev. 1:18).
70. Chastening can help men to be godly and escape it (Proverbs
23:14), but chastening will not keep men from graves. All go to graves,
but all do not go to hell. In fact, no saved man goes there since Christ
conquered hell (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21-24; Hebrews 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11).
71. The gates of hell (Hades) shall not prevail against the church in this
age (Matthew 16:18), but they did prevail against O.T. saints, for they
all went down into the paradise compartment of sheol (OT:7585) and
were held captive by Satan against their will (Hebrews 2:14-15). Since
the resurrection of Christ, saints do not go to Sheol/Hades as before He
conquered hell and liberated the righteous souls from Satan, leading
them captive to heaven (Ephes. 4:8-10; Hebrews 2:14-15). Saints of
this age now go to heaven at death instead of to Sheol (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil.
1:21-24; Hebrews 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11), which proves that hell is not the
grave. No such change regarding graves has ever been made. The
bodies of both the righteous and the wicked continue to be put into
graves.
72. Every man in Sheol/Hades will be brought out and judged 1,000
years after the righteous have been resurrected (Rev. 20:4-6,11-15). If
men at death are extinct or unconscious in graves, why bring them
back into existence or consciousness just to judge them and send them
into extinction of being again, as false cults teach? This would make
the Bible a lie, for conscious punishment of sins would then be
impossible. Unconsciousness in graves now, and unconsciousness and
extinction of being in eternity, would not meet the demands of the law
of eternal punishment for eternal rebellion, as we shall see below.
73. Sheol/Hades held the captives that were captured by Christ and
taken to heaven when He ascended on high (Ephes. 4:8-10; Hebrews
2:14-15). How could extinct or unconcious men be held captive? Why
would Christ even attempt to capture extinct beings? What would He
want with them? Those He captured must have been real and living,
for God is not the God of the dead bodies of men but of their living
souls (Luke 20:38). If the captives were brought back into being again
when their captivity by Christ took place, then the resurrection of the
righteous has already taken place and many scriptures stating the
future resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked are without
meaning (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; 1 Thes. 4:16; Rev. 20:4-6).
74. Qeber/mnemeion, the proper words for grave, are never translated
"hell." Sheol/Hades should never have been translated "grave." To
prove this, let us substitute hell where burial, grave, tomb, and
sepulchre are found and see how ridiculous it would be:
Examples of Using "Hell" for "Grave":
(1) Choice of our hells (Genesis 23:6)
(2) Jacob set a pillar upon her hell (Genesis 35:20)
(3) In my hell which I have digged (Genesis 50:5)
(4) Because ... no hells in Egypt (Exodus 14:11)
(5) Whosoever touches a hell shall be unclean seven days (Numbers
19:16,18)
(6) Buried by the hell of my father (2 Samuel 19:37)
(7) Carcass in his own hell (1 Kings 13:30)
(8) The hell of Elisha (2 Kings 13:21)
(9) Hell of the man of God (2 Kings 23:17)
(10) Remain among the hells (Isaiah 65:4)
(11) Bones out of hells (Jeremiah 8:1)
(12) Hells of the prophets (Matthew 23:29)
(13) Hells of the righteous (Matthew 23:29)
(14) Dwelling among the hells (Mark 5:3)
Examples of Using "Grave" for "Hell":
(1) Fire burning in the lowest grave kindled by God's wrath (Deut.
32:22)
(2) Sorrows of the grave (2 Samuel 22:6)
(3) Wicked and all nations that forget God turned into the grave (Psalm
9:17)
(4) Soul in the grave (Psalm 16:10)
(5) Pains of the grave (Psalm 116:3)
(6) The grave is never full (Proverbs 27:20)
(7) The inhabitants of the grave move to welcome you at your coming
(Isaiah 14:9)
(8) Speak out of the grave (Ezekiel 32:21)
(9) Shall be in danger of grave fire (Matthew 5:22; Matthew 18:9; Mark
9:43-49)
(10) Fire of the grave never quenched (Mark 9:43-49)
(11) God only has power to cast in the grave (Luke 12:5)
(12) In the grave he lift up his eyes, being in torments in fire ... flame
(Luke 16:19-31)
(13) Angels cast down to the grave (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6-7)
Other Ridiculous Conclusions:
(1) They shall look into the grave on sinners where their worm does not
die and their fire shall not be quenched (Isaiah 66:22-24).
(2) Cast into the grave where there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth (Matthew 8:11-12; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 24:51; Matthew
25:30).
(3) Who has warned you to flee from wrath in the grave (Matthew 3:7)?
(4) Killed and cast into the fire of the grave (Matthew 3:10).
(5) Burn in unquenchable fire in the grave (Matthew 3:12; Matthew
7:19; Luke 3:17).
(6) Tares are burned in the grave fire (Matthew 13:40,50).
(7) Cast them into the grave of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth (Matthew 13:42).
(8) A two-fold child more of the grave than yourselves (Matthew
23:15).
(9) Be cast into everlasting fire in the grave (Matthew 18:8-10).
(10) Depart from Me, you cursed, into the grave of everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).
(11) These shall go away in the grave of everlasting punishment
(Matthew 25:46).
(12) The angels that sinned have been reserved in everlasting chains
and set forth for an example of suffering the eternal fire of the grave
(Jude 1:6-7).
(13) He opened the grave and out of it came forth smoke of a great
furnace that darkened the sun (Rev. 9).
(14) The smoke of the grave rose up forever and ever (Rev. 19:3).
(15) Satan shall be cast into the grave of fire and brimstone and shall
be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:7-10).
(16) Death and the grave were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
(17) All sinners shall have their part in the grave that burns with fire
and brimstone (Rev. 21:8; Rev. 22:15).
(18) Are you come to torment us (demons) in the grave before it is
time to be tormented (Matthew 8:29)?
(19) Warn my five brethren lest they also come to this grave of torment
in fire (Luke 16:19-31).
(20) He (Lazarus) has comfort in his grave but you have torment in
yours (Luke 19:25).
(21) He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the grave and
they shall have no rest day or night forever and ever (Rev. 14:9-11).
Many other statements just as ridiculous could be made if we, like false
cults, forced a meaning into Scripture that is not there-that hell is the
grave; that there is no consciousness after death; that eternal fire and
eternal punishment in hell are false.
75. Hades (NT:86) is spoken of as being completely defeated (1 Cor.
15:55). This is sufficient proof that it isn't the grave.
76. The fact that the soul is immortal proves that it remains in
consciousness some place between death and resurrection (note, 1
Peter 3:4). Since it does not go to the grave, but to hell (Isaiah 14:9-16;
Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15) or heaven (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:21-24;
Hebrews 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11), then hell is not the grave.
77. Since the soul is immortal and the body mortal (Genesis 3:19;
Eccles. 3:19-21), then it is clear that only the body goes into the grave
to see corruption until its resurrection to immortality when (if wicked) it
will be punished in hell with the soul or (if righteous), will be permitted
to enjoy eternal bliss.
78. Since only the body is to be changed in the future resurrection of
the dead, then only the body will come out of unconsciousness in the
grave so it can be made as immortal as the soul and spirit, and be
rewarded in heaven or punished in hell, according to its deeds (Daniel
12:2; John 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15). See notes on the resurrection,
Daniel 12:2.
79. Since soul-sleep is not taught in Scripture and body-sleep is, then it
is the body only that is unconscious in the grave. See No Soul-Sleep
Taught in Scripture. The soul goes to hell or heaven at death, as seen
in the many scriptures above.
80. Since the bodies of the wicked as well as the righteous will become
immortal in the resurrection, then it is impossible to burn them up,
consume them, annihilate them, or cause them to become extinct
through fire or any other means. Where are immortal wicked beings
going to spend eternity as everlasting monuments of God's wrath and
examples of eternal punishment for rebellion (as in Isaiah 66:22-24;
Rev. 14:9-11; etc.), if not in hell?
81. Because there is full consciousness in the intermediate state
between death and resurrection, souls of the wicked as well as the
righteous must go to some place of waiting to remain until the
resurrection of the body. See pt. (14), The Doctrine of Man. Where
would the wicked go to await their bodies and receive judgment and
their degrees of punishment, if not to hell?
82. Since the word "hell" is never in the plural, and since it is always
clear, not only from the original words but from the subject matter of
the texts, that bodies are put into graves and souls go to heaven or
hell, then we must acknowledge that hell is not the grave.
83. Of the 65 places where sheowl (OT:7585) is used, 11 where Hades
is used, 12 where gehenna (NT:1067), 5 the lake of fire, and the 1 time
where tartaros (the verb form tartaroo (NT:5020)) is used in Scripture,
only 2 places seem to teach that hell is the grave and that there is no
consciousness in Sheol (Psalm 6:5; Eccles. 9:10).
The first passage is simply the statement of a man in great distress. He
could not see how the inhabitants in sheowl (OT:7585) could remember
God's goodness and give thanks to Him while in torment such as the
rich man suffered in Luke 16. It is easily conceivable how such
tormented rebels against God would not give thanks to Him, so this
would not prove anything regarding hell being the grave. David did not
believe that hell was the grave and that there was no life in sheowl
(OT:7585), for in many places he taught that Sheol was the place of the
immortal soul (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:25-29); a place of sorrows and
pains (Psalm 18:5); and a place of full consciousness where the wicked
go at death (Psalm 9:17; Psalm 31:17; Psalm 68:18; Psalm 88:3).
In the second passage, Eccles. 9:10, Solomon merely expresses the
idea that all human activity under the sun ceases at death, as proved
by the next verse where he speaks of profit under the sun. The phrase
"under the sun" is found 29 times in this short book. Solomon does not
mean that hell is the grave in Eccles. 9:10, for elsewhere he teaches
that the righteous do not go to the same compartment of Sheol as the
wicked do (Proverbs 5:5; Proverbs 7:27; Proverbs 9:18; Proverbs
15:11,24; Proverbs 23:14; Proverbs 27:20).
84. The confinement of angels and demons to prisons under the earth
because of sin proves that others-the immortal souls and spirits of the
human race and of giants-can also be confined to material prisons in
the underworld (Isaiah 24:21-22; 1 Peter 3:19; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6-7;
Rev. 9:1-21; Rev. 20:1-10).
85. Examples of continued consciousness after death prove that hell
and heaven are real places of life and not the grave where there is no
life (Matthew 17:5; Luke 16:19-31; Hebrews 12:23; Rev. 6:9-11).
86. The Bible refers to life after death in many places.
87. Degrees of punishment in eternal hell prove that neither
Sheol/Hades nor the lake of fire is the grave (Matthew 10:15; Matthew
11:22-24; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 23:12-15; Rev. 20:11-15). How
could there be any kind of eternal punishment, much less degrees of
punishment, if the wicked are extinct?
88. The eternal length of punishment of the wicked proves hell is not
the grave. All bodies in graves will be resurrected and graves will be no
more, but hell and eternal punishment will never end.

Some Fallacies About Hell

(Taken From Dake's Annotated Reference Bible)

1. Hell is the grave. This is abundantly disproved above.

2. Fire in hell is figurative. The word fire is found in Scripture 549 times
and is used figuratively only a few times. It is always clear when it is
used figuratively, as of anger (Psalm 89:46); jealousy (Psalm 79:5);
zeal (Psalm 104:4; John 2:17); shame (Romans 12:20); trials (1 Peter
1:7); judgment (Zech. 13:9); Word of God (Jeremiah 23:29); tongue
(James 3:5-6); and God (Hebrews 12:29). Fire is used in plain literal
descriptive language in the following statements of hell:
(1) Set on fire the foundations of mountains in the lowest Sheol (Deut.
32:22).
(2) Neither shall their fire be quenched (Isaiah 66:22-24; Mark 9:43-
49).
(3) Unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:10,12).
(4) Hell fire (Matthew 5:22; Matthew 18:9; Mark 9:43-49).
(5) Cast into the fire (Matthew 7:19).
(6) Furnace of fire (Matthew 13:40-50).
(7) Cast into everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8; Matthew 25:41,46).
(8) Fire that never shall be quenched (Mark 9:43-49; Luke 3:17).
(9) The vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:6-7).
(10) Tormented with fire and brimstone (Rev. 14:9-11).
(11) Lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev. 19:20; Rev. 21:8).
(12) Lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 19:20; Rev. 20:14-15).
3. Punishment of hell not eternal. If language means anything the
torments of hell are proved to be eternal in the following:
(1) Danger of eternal darnation (Mark 3:29)
(2) Eternal judgment (Hebrews 6:2)
(3) Vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 1:7)
(4) Shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29)
(5) Everlasting fire (Matthew 18:8; Matthew 25:41)
(6) Everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46)
(7) Everlasting destruction (2 Thes. 1:9)
(8) Everlasting chains (Jude 1:6-7)
(9) The smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever (Rev.
14:9-11).
(10) Tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10)
The same words translated "eternal," "everlasting," and "forever and
ever," which are used to state the eternity of God, Christ, the Holy
Spirit, life, etc., are also used of hell and punishment. Therefore, if
these persons and things are eternal, then hell and punishment are
eternal. Some teach that forever means age-long. This may be true
when used in a limited and qualified sense of temporary things, as in
Exodus 21:6, but when used literally of God's plan it always means
eternal. The Hebrew word: (owlam (OT:5769) and the Greek word
aionios (NT:166) mean time out of mind, past or future; eternity;
always; forever; everlasting; perpetual; without end.

Hell Was Not Meant for Mankind

Jesus tells us that Hell was originally created for satan and his angels:

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels"
(Matthew 25:41). It was never intended for mankind to go to that awful
place, but because Adam fell and thus joined satan in rebellion against
God, we now have a fallen nature that is in rebellion against God, and
will go there upon the death of the body unless one is born again of the
Word and Spirit of God (John 3:3-7; Eph. 5:26; 1 Peter 1:23).

God provided the way to escape Hell so that none of us has to go

there. He sent His unique Son, who was Himself God manifest in the
flesh (John 1:1-11; 1 Tim. 3:16) to take our place and died for our sins
(1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Jn. 2:2; 3:5; 4:10). By rejecting
Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord of our life, we choose to go
to hell and join all others who have rebelled against God. Jesus is the
only way to escape the darnation of hell. Won't you come to Him today,
and invite Him to be your Savior and Lord? There is no other way:

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts
4:12).

Buddah cannot save you; Mohammed cannot save you. They are
themselves, in hell awaiting their final judgment. Religions of men
cannot save you, for they deny the only way of salvation and
substitute the way God provided for their own ways. Won't you come to
Jesus Christ today?